Obituary of Thomas E. Byrnes

BYRNES, THOMAS E. - AGE 71 - Passed away on July 9, 2018. He was born in Philadelphia, PA on November 6, 1946. Tom was a 1964 graduate of St. Joseph's High School in Hammonton, NJ. He attended La Salle College from 1964 to 1968 when he graduated with a Bachelor degree in Business with a specialty in Accounting. He also received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1992. In June 1969, he was inducted into the Army where he was sent to Texas and then to the Army Audit Agency where he was a Military Auditor in Korea from June 1969 until he was discharged in February 1971. He then went back to work for the Army Audit Agency as a civilian auditor where he spent 5 of those years doing audits in Germany. Tom was a civil servant for 39 years employed as an auditor with the Federal Government working for both the Department of Defense and the Department of the Treasury before retiring in 2007. In addition, he taught Accounting and Auditing at the Graduate and Post Graduate level for Strayer University in Washington, D.C. He is survived by his wife, Joyce Annette; son Patrick Joseph Byrnes, wife Natalie and their daughter Brooklynn Marie of Ashland, VA.; son Michael Thomas Byrnes, wife Sharon and their children Michael, Lauren, and Joseph Patrick of Saratoga Springs, NY; and daughter Michelle Anne Surprise and husband Alastair of Playa Del Rey, CA. In addition, he is survived by his brothers, Timothy, Gregory, Richard, and their families. Even though Tom received multiple higher education degrees and was a teacher, it was especially important to him to give credit to the people who taught him more about life than any educational institution could ever do. He wanted to let his wife, children, grandchildren, and parents (Marie and Joseph) receive the credit they deserve for what they taught him about life. He was eternally grateful to them for that education. A visitation with the family will be held on Friday, July 13, 2018, 10:00AM - 11:00AM in St. Vincent de Paul RC Church, 5021 Harding Highway, Mays Landing, NJ 08330 followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00am. Burial will follow in Atlantic County Veterans Cemetery, 109 Route 50, Estelle Manor, NJ. In lieu of flowers Memorial Donations may be made in Tom's name to the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation, 3610 W. Market St., Suite 110, Akron, OH 44333 or at www.cjdfoundation.org.